“Is that one of our mugs, Henderson?”
Taylor turned, wincing in apology behind Sebastian as the guard glanced between the two of them.
“Uh…yes, sir. It is.”
Sebastian nodded. “Give it to me.”
Taylor backpedaled out of his way when he yanked the sliding door shut and rounded on her. The glowing ire in his eyes made her heart stutter and pound. His dry laugh made the fine hairs on her arms stand on end, and Taylor stood motionless as he scrubbed a hand across the back of his neck before flinging his arms out in askance.
“I don’t even know where to start with you today.”
“Sebastian, please, I’m--”
He lifted a hand cutting her off. “No, Taylor. You’re not sorry. Not yet.”
Her chest jerked with her shallow breaths as he prowled closer. Biting her lip, she took an uncertain step back, groping behind her for the support of the island in the kitchen.
“Stop moving.”
She trembled, fighting to get her body to comply. It was so damn hard when everything in her just wanted to run. Her legs threatened to buckle.
“Would you like to explain to me how the head of security ended up with a cup from our house?” he asked, holding up the mug in question.
Licking her lips, she tried to force the words past the dry, tight confines of her throat. “It was cold and I…he’d been standing there for hours watching over me. I thought he might be thirsty.”
A terse smirk rode his lips. “You thought,” he stated, nodding. Approaching, he circled her in slow, deliberate steps. “I don’t think you thought about anything, Taylor. I keep those men stationed outside for a reason. I’ve told you before they are not here to socialize or provide you with entertainment. They are here to guard the premises and keep you safe. Nothing else.”
“He was. Henderson stood there the whole time.”
Sebastian flashed a patronizing smile. “Oh I’m sure he did, sweetheart. Gladly, and you decided to repay those efforts by what? Charming him and inviting him into our home for a cup of coffee?”
Her face went numb as the blood drained out of it, leaving a tingling wake. Taylor swallowed, dragging her eyes up to his as she shook her head frantically. “No, Sebastian. He didn’t come inside. I swear. I would never do that to you. I would never disrespect you that way.”
“Why should I believe you?” he asked in a hoarse whisper. “You disobeyed me. You disappointed me in everything else today. Why not that, too?”
She opened her mouth to answer but he silenced it with a stern shake of his head. Taylor whimpered when he snared her jaw with his free hand, the firm grip stilling her movements.
“I told you I didn’t want you talking to those men. I made that and my reasons why perfectly clear, yet here we are. You are cozying up to them in my absence and what…sharing a cup of afternoon coffee?”
He launched the mug across the kitchen. It hit the maple cupboards under the sink and shattered. Taylor whimpered, biting back a terrified sob. Her heart threatened to explode right out of the front of her chest as she watched chunks of porcelain scatter across the smooth travertine floor. The remainder of Henderson’s coffee pooled against the stones in a dark puddle. Sebastian’s fingers dug deeper.
“Answer me,” he warned.
“N-no. It…it wasn’t like that. I swear. I just felt sor-sorry for him.”
His shoulders jerked with dry humor. “I feel sorry for you, Taylor,” he stated, softly stroking her hair. “Go wait for me upstairs.”
Heart pounding, Taylor opened her mouth to beg him to believe her. The savage look in Sebastian’s eyes ripped away any hope of understanding or compassion. His lean body shook with the force of his anger. She swallowed hard and bowed her head as she slipped past him. If he had to repeat himself again, he might very well explode.
Scaling the stairs took effort. If not for the solid support of the banister, she would have hit her knees. Her pulse roared in her ears as she opened the doors to the master suite. She considered locking them behind her, but knew it would only make things worse. He’d get in one way or another and then she would pay twice as bad. If she was lucky enough to get off that easy. She’d lived long enough to know luck was seldom on any McAvay’s side.
Lowering onto the lush micro suede loveseat in the sitting room, she pulled off her coat and wrung the hem of her tee shirt in her lap. The minutes ticked by into an agonizing eternity while her stomach rolled and twisted into sickening knots. A block of dread closed around her heart as she watched the numbers on the wall clock shift. Somehow, the suspense made things so much worse. She wondered if Sebastian knew that and decided he did. It was what he wanted. Certain she was going to ruin her shirt for good, she forced her attention elsewhere and traced abstract patterns on the soft beige fabric covering the cushions.
Her head snapped up at the soft click of the latch releasing in the doors. Her heartbeat pounded in the base of her throat as she watched Sebastian pull them shut behind him. When he stepped into the room, it took everything she had not to fling herself at his feet and beg forgiveness. His hands clenched behind his back and her terrified brain couldn’t help wondering if that was to prevent them from going around her neck. She swallowed.
“You’re a lucky girl, Taylor, so very lucky,” he said softly. “Witnesses and evidence support your story.”
Witnesses and evidence? She barely had time to ponder his words before relief rushed through her trembling body, and she opened her mouth to thank him. A quick slash of his hand through the air locked the words in her throat.
“That doesn’t let you off the hook. It doesn’t change the fact that you disobeyed me and showed a complete lack of common sense. You aren’t a stupid woman, Taylor. Why is it that you insist on making bad decisions? No,” he said, shaking his head as if to correct himself. “It doesn’t matter why. You are fortunate to have me to look out for you. This is something we will continue to work on together.”
Fresh terror froze the blood in her veins. When words failed her, she held up an imploring hand.
“Get undressed.”
Her head shook franticly as his hands landed on the heavy buckle of his belt. She was positive only her obedient fingers fumbling with her clothing kept him from snapping at her silent denial.
“What part of that can you possibly disagree with, Taylor? Does it seem sensible to you with everything going on for you to kneel out in the open for hours where Laychee or a sniper could pick you off? Is it a sound decision to distract a bodyguard from his job with idle chit chat or to fill hands meant to be around a gun with a coffee mug?”
A sob broke in her throat as she shook her head harder. A brief glimmer of desire lit his pale eyes as they raked over her now naked form. Sebastian’s ex
pression hardened before he turned away and a deep stab of guilt mingled with the fear wracking her from the inside out. The metal belt buckle jangled as he pulled the strap free and used it to point to the end of the bed.
“You know the routine.”
Burying her face in the comforter did nothing to muffle her cry when the belt sliced through the air and landed across the back of her thighs with a startling snap. An instant line of fire ignited in its wake. Another followed in quick suit, wresting a strangled scream from her throat. The thick strap bit into her skin in a series of rapid strikes. Fisting the black and silver blankets, she writhed in place, trying to diffuse the sting. The blows came harder. Realizing her mistake, Taylor stilled in surrender. She stiffened, crying out as the menacing kiss of leather branded her body. It licked across her thighs and the swell of her ass, leaving a slow, deliberate burn until her sobs, too, ceased.
The gentle glide of Sebastian’s fingers was jarring. She whimpered as they rekindled the lines of fire that branched across her flesh. She shuddered, biting back a cry when he cupped the upturned globes of her ass and molded them in his palms. A low groan vibrated in the base of her throat as the sting increased and snaked across her skin.
“You are very lucky, Taylor,” he mused in a quiet rasp. “Things would have been so much worse if you had lied to me. So much worse. Don’t ever disobey me or go against my wishes again. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Sebastian.” Taylor sniffled, trembling as his hands continued their slow journey over her body. He leaned over her and his breath fell scalding against her skin.
“You are mine,” he whispered against her ear. “Don’t forget that, Taylor. I will never share you with another man. Never.”
She tensed upon hearing the telltale rustle of clothing behind her. A renewed surge of fear danced through her shell-shocked system. “I know, Sebastian. I don’t want anyone else but you. I swear.”
He wound his fist in her hair and tugged her head back sharply. She moaned as he kissed the side of her neck and ground his erection against the welted globes of her ass. “That’s a very good thing, sweetheart,” he murmured into the arch of her throat, “because I would kill him before I ever let that happen.”